While Ludo may well have reached his greatest length, the young cat is still filling out.

Petparents Kelsey and Matthew Gill, of Ryhill, West Yorkshire, UK got Ludo from a breeder around a year ago.

Kelsey said: “When we bought Ludo, he was no bigger than any of the other kittens in his litter as Maine Coon’s are quite chunky as kittens.

“But as the months went on, we noticed he quickly overtook our other cats, who are a few years older than him, and he’s now double the size of them.

“He’s a lovely cat- he’s very friendly and affectionate but some people who visit are scared of him as they’re used to seeing dogs that size, not cats.

“When I pick him up, it’s like picking up a baby – he’s huge.

“I’m not sure if he’s the biggest in Britain yet, but he’s definitely close.

“We realised he could be one of the biggest when my husband looked it up on the internet and found Ludo was slightly above all the other cats.

“There’s a debate about when they stop growing, but he’s only 17 months so I think he’s still got a lot of growing to do. I can’t imagine how big he will get.

“It’s strange as our other cats are much smaller but they eat so much more than he does.

“The breeder we got him from told us his relative was the longest cat.

“We’ve had Maine Coon’s for a while, but never one this big. The other two Maine Coons that we have at the moment are much smaller than Ludo and they’re about four years old. He overtook them in weight and size when he was five months old and he was 18 pounds at nine months.

“Even though he’s huge, he’s so friendly and lovable. He’ll often come over and lay on the bed or flop out on the floor to be stroked.

“He doesn’t cost us anymore than the other two as he doesn’t eat that much – the smallest one eats the most. He just has a standard amount of the Maine Coon Royal Canin cat food.

“Although he’s big, we’re still able to pick him up and take him places if we want, but he is very heavy.”

Stewie, a Maine Coon from Nevada, measured 48.5 inches when fully stretched out and was the official Guinness World Recordholder for Longest Cat until his death from cancer in 2013. With Maine Coons known as the gentle giants of the cat world, Stewie was well suited for his work as a therapy cat, frequently visiting a senior center near his home.

Totally agree Tracy, as much as we loved our first 2 Maine Coons they weren’t giants, we just had to find a breeder who tended to produce on the side of gigantum, Ludo is 26lbs now and still far from fully grown! Here’s his Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/LudotheCat